President Biden Asks Americans to “Stand Together” and “Lower the Temperature in Our Politics” Following Trump Shooting

President Joe Biden called on Americans to “stand together” and “lower the temperature in our politics” Sunday during his second public address regarding the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.

Speaking from the Oval Office in the White House, Biden addressed the country in a roughly six-minute speech that started at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

“I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics, and to remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies,” he said. “We’re neighbors, we’re friends, co-workers, citizens. And most importantly, we are fellow Americans. We must stand together.” 

Bide noted that there are still a lot of questions surrounding the assassination attempt, including the shooter’s motives, if he acted with anyone else and what his political affiliations are.

“Tonight, I want to speak to what we do know: A former president was shot. An American citizen was killed while simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing. We cannot, we must not go down this road in America. We’ve traveled it before throughout our history,” he said. “Violence has never been the answer, whether it’s with members of Congress and both parties being targeted and shot, or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6, or a brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, or information and intimidation on election officials, or the kidnapping plot against the city governor, or an attempted assassination on Donald Trump. There is no place in America for this kind of violence for any violence ever, period. No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”

Biden acknowledged that disagreements have always been part of politics, but emphasized that those disagreements should never become physical or violent.

“Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy,” he said. “It’s part of human nature, but politics must never be a literal battlefield or, God forbid, a killing field. I believe politics ought to be an arena for peaceful debate, to pursue justice, to make decisions guided by the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. We stand for an America not of extremism and fury, but of decency and grace.”

Biden also asked Americans to treat each other with “dignity and respect.”

“Here in America, everyone must be treated with dignity and respect, and hate must have no safe harbor,” he said. “Here in America, we need to get out of our silos where we only listen to those with whom we agree, where misinformation is rampant, where foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests, not ours…. Our unity is the most elusive of goals right now. Nothing is more important for us now than standing together; we can do this. From the beginning, our founders understood the power of passion, so they created a democracy that gave reason and balance a chance to prevail over brute force. That’s the America we must be, an American democracy where arguments are made in good faith. An American democracy where the rule of law is respected. An American democracy where decency, dignity, fair play aren’t just quaint notions but living, breathing realities.”

Biden’s comments came not long after Trump arrived in Milwaukee for the 2024 Republican National Convention, where he is expected to be formally nominated as the GOP candidate. Trump has confirmed he plans to speak at the convention.

Earlier Sunday, Biden held a brief news conference, where he urged unity and offered his condolences to the families of the victim who was killed and those who were injured.

“As I said last night, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence, or any violence for that matter,” Biden said. “An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation — everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen. Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now.”

Biden also condemned the shooting in a statement Saturday night, and the White House said Biden spoke directly to Trump that same night.

“I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania,” Biden said in his statement. “I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information. Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”

On Saturday, Trump’s campaign said the former president and presumptive Republican nominee was “fine” after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. After shots rang out, Trump was rushed off the stage by the Secret Service, but photos showed him with a bloody ear. A bystander, Corey Comperatore, also was killed in the melee. The FBI has identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot dead by the Secret Service.

Hours after the shooting, Trump confirmed on his Truth Social media site that a bullet “pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he said. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”

He added: “I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.”

On Monday, former President Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as vice president from 2009-2017, supported the president’s words in an Instagram story, sharing a clip from Biden’s oval office address with this message: “President Biden is right, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. As a country we may not agree on everything, but we should be able to agree on that.”

July 15, 4:45 p.m. This story has been updated to include Obama’s comment on Instagram.